1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid ejection head for recording on a recording medium by ejecting liquid, such as ink, as well as a recording apparatus including the same, and in particular, to a liquid ejection head that performs inkjet printing and a recording apparatus including the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
An inkjet printhead (hereinafter referred to as a printhead) mounted on an inkjet recording apparatus includes a recording element substrate having ejection ports for ejecting ink droplets and a supply system for supplying the ink ejected from the ejection ports to the recording element substrate. Some of the printheads have a configuration in which the periphery of the recording element substrate is not surrounded by a wiring member, such as a flexible wiring member.
A printhead disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-190907 has a configuration in which a rectangular recording element substrate 1100 and a wiring member 1300 are electrically connected at only one of the short sides, that is, at one side, of the recording element substrate 1100, as shown in FIG. 8A.
A printhead in which a recording element substrate and a wiring member are electrically connected at one side, as in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-190907, is disclosed in PCT Japanese Translation Patent Publication No. 2005-506917. This print head has a member (cap shroud) for constituting a continuous surface with which a cap comes into contact.
A printhead disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-254661 has a configuration in which the recording element substrate and the wiring member 1300 are electrically connected at long sides of the rectangular recording element substrate, as shown in FIG. 8B, and there is no need to surround the entire periphery of the recording element substrate with the wiring member 1300. However, a continuous surface with which a cap comes into contact is formed by providing the wiring member 1300 also at portions where the recording element substrate and the wiring member 1300 are not electrically connected.
In the case where the periphery of the recording element substrate is surrounded by the cap, as in the above, if the wiring member is disposed so as to surround the periphery of the recording element substrate, airtightness inside the cap can be held well.
However, in a printhead in which the recording element substrate and the wiring member are electrically connected at one side, as in the printhead disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-190907, when the cap is brought into contact with the periphery of the recording element substrate, a gap is formed due to the level difference between the wiring member and a surface on which the wiring member is disposed, thus decreasing the airtightness.
Thus, a member that constitutes the continuous surface may be provided as disclosed in PCT Japanese Translation Patent Publication No. 2005-506917. However, this needs a process and an adhesive for joining the new member, thus increasing the cost.
A configuration in which the continuous surface is formed by providing the wiring member at a portion where the recording element substrate and the wiring member are not electrically connected is possible, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-254661. However, this configuration needs the wiring member also at an unnecessary portion, thus increasing the cost.